"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." This month's discussion in the potting shed.

[MyNightWithMaud]

Grateful thanks to the magnificent Margaret Atwood (via A Mighty Girl) for the quote.

I have just come indoors after a delightful couple of hours' pottering in the garden. It's far warmer than yesterday and everything feels optimistic and vernal again, after yesterday's Arctic blast.

High point: Realising that most of last year's cuttings have taken. Given that I am useless with seeds this, I think, is my propagating future.

Low point: Realising that my newest fairy lights have already failed.

My garden too is exploding into colour. The tulips in the pew planters are out. Unfortunately way earlier than the forget-me-not I planted with them. Need to get later flowering tulips for that idea to work I think.

Photo of the inside of one of the tulips (just because they were beautiful) and some of the anemone blanda in the long bed.

Beautiful pics, Bertha.

fantastic colours bertha.

I had a similar experience today Rhubarb, I went into the garden and things really seem to be coming on. Lawn has had it's first cut and it all looks so much better. The spring borders under the crab apple walk are full of violets, pulmonaria, hellebores, primroses, celandine, aquilegia foliage sprouting and forget-me-nots coming into flower. Now the edges are done they look like they are meant to be there rather than a happy accident.

ToddlerCobbler had a new tractor to play with and just pobbled around happily for hours so I managed to get some weeding done, pull all of the sempervivum and alpine pots out of the greenhouse and into postition, clean out the verandah, but back a bit more of the cottage borders. It was a lovely afternoon. I felt reborn after the bug.

Commiserations to anyone felled (or about to be felled) by sickness.

I'm hoping for a day in the garden tomorrow. I may need to saw the bamboo from the broken pot in half, which will be challenging. Perhaps (despite my sense of doom, as it rarely ends well) I should sow some seeds.

Chopper I have no advice about your white currant except to say they take particularly easily from cuttings, so when you prune it, save some bits in case the shock of the move kills it.

(I did a propogating course a while ago, and we took white currant cuttings, a bit of damp compost, and some black bin liners, put the cutting in the compost, and folded and wrapped the liners around the whole thing, tied them and left them in a corner of the garden over winter for 6 months. Both the cuttings I did took and have grown in successfully)

Where did you do the propagating course, Bearleigh? I go to lots of lectures but fancy doing some sort of hands-on course?

The sun us shining here, so I intend to make the most of time in the garden.

Good suggestion thanks bearleigh!

Anyone got loads of dandelions everywhere ? I have issues with my new raised bed - I see it as a cutting patch, the dog sees it as a path

Yep, just picked a bucket of dandelions at the allotment, they've started flowering in just a couple of days.

Bloody weeds.

The pond is dug! We decided to change tactic and build up the bottom edge with the clay and build a bank. Now all we need is the liner and we can fill it up. Not bad for a weekend's work I think. The bank looks a bit telly tubby like at the moment but it will be planted eventually.

I'm sure I have a dandelion or two in the lawn, but what I have in abundance are the geum weed and hairy bittercress. I have also seen ground elder peeping out from under the neighbour's fence. I will dig out as much as I can, but will probably end up deploying the napalm glyphosate.

I have just had a mammoth planting session, sawn the bamboo in half and repotted it and tied the grapevine to its support. I am now too tired to move from the sofa.

Also put up the plastic greenhouse in the veg plot and sowed French beans, runner beans, romenesca cauliflower, parsnips, beetroot and chard. And some more peas - mice have chomped the tops off all the newly sprouted peas planted a couple of weeks ago. Grrrrr. There is now a mouse trap in the veg plot.

Yes to weeds popping up everywhere. Everything's going a bit mad with the rain and then the sunshine.

Wow, Bertha, that's going to be beautiful when it's finished (and I'm sure it will lose its Tellytubby aspect)!

Hi, hope ok to join this v useful thread I love gardening and started my garden from scratch a few years ago - still lots to do though!

Just spent a very happy afternoon digging out a small pond in my garden. Just wanted to ask Bertha whether you'll be putting carpet or cardboard under your liner like Monty suggested on GW last week?

Welcome Itsnothingoriginal There's always lots to do isn't there ! I'm on year 2 of some bits of my garden, year 1 on another but and year 12 on another. It's only now that the DD'S are older and don't use it that I am doing the back.

Your pond will be fab Bertha.

Oh for a bamboo big enough to hack at. Mine was a J Parkers freebie and tiny.

I've been moving and splitting. Moved a Hebe which was a rooted bit fro. Original plant but doing nothing where I put it. Moved whatisname AM Rue Ledan to space on new border. Split Geranium Rozanne again and put some in front along with bits of Aster as the front dies a death about June.

Pricked out Antirhinum in the Greenhouse and noticed first Cosmos peeping through. On the way back I found peony tips just showing. Have mulched Mme Carriere with chicken pellets and compost and watered. Really hoping she will manage more than 3 flowers this year as is her 4th year.

I'm.just having a quick sit down outside listening to birdsong. Saw a few ladybirds by one of the roses earlier. Bit chilly now the effects of digging have worn off.

I get lots of marsh willowherb, which is fortunately easy to spot and pull up

Bertha your pond looks amazing, such a lot of digging work!

Welcome, Itsnothingoriginal.

You've reminded me that I saw my first ladybird of the year this afternoon and several huge, fat bumblebees.

Welcome Itsnothingoriginal I'm putting rather expensive underlay under the liner as the ground is really flinty. Just ordered the liner, underlay and a load of rocks. Now feeling poor. Actually it's cost less so far than I thought it would seeing as it's only cost £20 so far for labour (£10 each for niece & nephew who have been great at helping when not grumpy this weekend). Which should leave a bit over for plants

We're debating putting some kind of pontoon like viewing platform at the deep end for the DDs to lie on but we are struggling to think of something that will look ok. If we don't put an access point in for them I have a feeling they'll be wading in the pond investigating things.

DH has suggested planting the bank with wild flowers. I have a few trays full of wildflower seedlings that I don't yet have a home for so I'll grow them into plugs and pop them through the turf when they're big enough.

Thanks for the welcome

Ah Bertha - didn't realise there is a proper pond underlay! Have just googled and might invest in some as my garden is full of stones and builders rubble.

You reminded me that I need to do a bit of feeding and mulching for my roses Sugarplumtree - I have Mme Carriere over an arch - is wonderful!

I adore Mme Carriere

Hello and welcome itsnotintheoriginal.

All this talk of ponds reminds me I have a pond in a pot waiting to go. I've plugged the drainage hole with cork and silicon sealant and it's holding. Now I'm waiting to place it as DH has cracked a window while painting a frame and the chap'll need access to get to it (all windows here are floor to ceiling-ish). It'll give me more time to think of what to plant in it. At a local plant nursery, I was entranced to see tiny frogs on the water plants. I would love to have frogs in the garden, but the assistant told me they were stowaways from Queensland and I thought: cane toads.

Another project is converting a dead clamshell barbecue rescued from a nature strip into a container for plants. It's big, about 22' diameter and on a stand comes to about 32'' high, so I can have trailing plants.

Like everyone in the UK, I'm planting peas, garden and snow, but I've bought seedlings, so should have peas by the end of July. DP has planted two rows of beetroot, despite having no luck in two years. I checked and it seems liming the soil is essential, so we'll see.

Welcome newbies!
That pond is quite big! It is going to be amazing! I'm also impressed with the raised beds at the edge of the picture.
It was a lovely day today.
I sowed more sweet peas, moved some plants which had been overwintering in shelter to a sunny spot, and sat in the garden looking at the sunlight. Some parts of the garden get more than 8 hours of sunlight.
Not the part we sit in. The seating needs to be rethought.
I saw a bee. Only one though.

Welcome itsnothing.

Sounds like everyone was busy yesterday. Very impressed by the pond.

I just got the dcs to sow some seeds - traditional yellow sunflowers, dark orange sunflowers, dwarf sunflowers for pots for teachers (idea shamelessly stolen from Geoff last year) and a large pot each of nasturtiums.

Well done on the juvenile seed sowing, Rhubarb. I have spectacularly failed to get DD interested in gardening, although she did one term in gardening club in school.

I overdid it yesterday. Every part of me aches today.